A Glittering Net
by TheRoseShadow21
Summary: "Of all the things that she does not yet know, the one thing that puzzles the almost six-year-old Akari Shiota the most is the issue of whether she is adopted." One-shot, major AU (see author's note for explanation), rated T to be safe. Uploaded for #AnKyouWeek16


**I've written so many stupidly long one-shots, that I changed the title on my Tumblr to be a disclaimer warning of this habit. So, yeah, I'm not even going to justify it anymore, but I do apologise to you all for the length, and hope you'll be able to bear with it.**

 **Anyway, this idea is not fully my own-I was inspired a while ago by a one-shot, 'Autumn Mornings', by ANorNYM, which is an AU where Kayano dies, and Rio and Nagisa are together. In fact, one of the scenes in this is adapted directly from that fic, though of course I have changed and extended things to suit this story. But yeah, some credit is definitely due there, so do go and check that fic out too if you can :)**

 **Also, this happens to be my 100th completed story uploaded on this site! It feels like a milestone. As for where the title of this fic comes from-I spent a while trawling the internet for quotes/expressions relating to names, and used that to make a title. The quote I eventually chose is at the bottom of this fic in an author's note.**

 **But yeah, enough from me and on with the story. I hope you all enjoy it, and do leave feedback.**

* * *

Of all the things that she does not yet know, the one thing that puzzles the almost six-year-old Akari Shiota the most is the issue of whether she is adopted. She knows what adoption is, what it means, because her friend Meiko from kindergarten, she was adopted recently (and her new parents, they're really nice). But Akari has no memories of anything like that; she just always remembers having Mama and Papa around. And there are other things too, such as the fact that her eyes are exactly the same as Papa's, or that she laughs like Mama, or that she's kind of small-which makes sense because of how Papa apparently used to be short when he used to be a kid-or the fact that like Mama, she's smart. If she was adopted, she wouldn't have these things in common with them, she knows this.

But her black hair overshadows everything. Even though Papa's shown her pictures of her grandparents and even older relatives that had black hair, it still seems strange, it doesn't fit. She _likes_ her hair-it's long and shiny and really pretty, and she likes how it looks whatever style Mama helps her put it up into. It's not as if there's anything wrong with having black hair. She quite likes it. But still, it marks her out as different, and now there's that photograph she found the day before. It seems to change everything.

It's an old photograph, of a girl, probably a teenager, in a school uniform. It isn't anyone Akari's ever seen before. The face is completely unfamiliar to her. But the hair-from the length and the shine to the colour and the way it frames the face of the girl in the picture-it looks like her. Almost exactly like her, it's almost like seeing her hair in a mirror. Making her wonder if maybe she is right to think that she's adopted.

In truth though, she doesn't _know_. The things she does know, she can't put them together like a jigsaw puzzle to find an answer, like she does with other things. Even if she is supposed to be smart for her age and all. No matter how much she thinks about it and tries to figure out the answer herself, as if this is a puzzle from her activity book, she doesn't have a clue, and this is something she really wants to know. So eventually, she decides to do what she's always told to do if she needs help with something-to just ask.

She does this at dinner time, just blurting out the question after swallowing a few mouthfuls of noodles. As soon as she does, for a moment, nothing happens. Mama and Papa both just stare at her, stunned speechless. She wonders if it's offended them.

"Don't worry!" she adds quickly. "It's okay if you did. You're still my Mama and Papa!"

At this, Papa chokes and splutters on his own mouthful, and Mama has to slap his back.

"What makes you ask that though, Akari?" he asks once he's recovered.

Akari bites her lip, wondering how to explain her question. There's no point just asking about her hair, because they've already talked about that. This leaves the photograph. _I hope I don't get into trouble for it though._ She has no idea where it came from, but she has a feeling she shouldn't have seen it, because it was kind of hidden when she did find it. Still, she decides to do it anyway, and puts down her chopsticks to pull out the photograph from her dungaree pocket, and she holds them out across the table.

"Where did you find those?" The reaction from Mama is immediate, and though she doesn't seem angry, she does seem upset. So Akari is careful as she answers.

"On the coffee table. I found them when I was looking for my picture book yesterday! You know, the princess one."

"Ahh, so that's where I left it." Papa muses thoughtfully. Akari and Mama turn to him. He smiles at them both.

"You were looking through the album, Nagisa?" Mama asks.

"Yeah. Friday night, I didn't want to disturb you while sleeping, so I took that marking I had to do out there, but I got distracted, and I took the graduation album to look through and….yeah, I thought I put that back inside, but apparently not. "

"Ah, there's no harm done. At least it wasn't lost."

Akari stares at them as she idly fiddles with her bead necklace. She has _no_ idea what they're talking about. _Oh, maybe I won't get into trouble then._

"Do you want the picture back then, Papa?" she asks, pointedly. He takes it from her, and pauses before frowning and handing it to Mama.

"Here, What I'm wearing apparently doesn't have any pockets."

"How is that even possible? I thought it was women's clothing that never had pockets! Did you steal my clothes today?" Mama laughs as she takes the picture and tucks it into the pocket of her jeans shorts.

"Why would I do that, Rio?" he rolls his eyes, but chuckles along with her. Akari laughs, but she doesn't get what's funny. It seems to just be one of those Mama-and-Papa things, a private joke of sorts. It happens a lot. She doesn't mind it, because their home is always full of laughter as a result. And there are plenty of jokes she's a part of too, so it's not as if she's left out or anything (also, she has lots of jokes with Kaname and Ayame that Mama and Papa don't know, so it's fair).

"Are you thinking that we adopted you from the person from the photograph?" Mama asks when they stop laughing. Her voice is soft, but also a little sad, and something about that makes Akari afraid all of a sudden, so she just nods and steels herself for the answer.

"She isn't. We're your parents, in all the ways that matters. But still, it's a funny coincidence, you having black hair like her."

 _Coincidence?_

"What do you mean, Mama?"

"Her name was Akari."

It takes a moment for this to sink in, but when it does, she gasps. Her jaw doesn't drop to the table, but it may as well have, she's _that_ surprised.

"What, like me?" when both Mama and Papa nod, she's even more astonished. "Really?Wow! Doesn't she mind that, me having the same name as her?"

Papa shakes his head.

"She…she died. A long time ago. That's….that's why we named you for her."

"Oh….." Akari looks down at the table, at the pattern of it. _That's….really sad._ She starts to wish that she hadn't asked now, because of the looks on her parents' faces, but now she's even more curious. She hadn't expected this sort of answer. She isn't too sure what to think.

"Who was she?" she asks, timidly.

"A classmate of ours, in our third year of middle school. " Papa says. Akari scrunches up her face as she thinks of this.

"You mean the class that you were in with Kaname and Ayame's Mama and Papa, and Karma-san and Manami-san, and Yukiko-san and Tomo-san and all of them too? _She_ was there too?"

"Yeah. "

"Oh, okay. Wait!" Akari frowns, realising something important. "I don't remember seeing someone who looked like that in your pictures. I don't think."

At this, Mama and Papa exchange a look. She isn't sure what it means, and it seems like ages go by before they answer her.

"That's….it's a long, long story. She's in there, though, I can promise you that. How about after dinner, we go sit in the living room, and we'll tell you about her. That's fine, isn't it, Nagisa?" Mama says, half talking to her, half talking to Papa.

"Well, sure. It's not really a big secret or anything, is it?" he replies to Mama, before looking at Akari again.

"How about it then, Akari? "

She grins and nods, and picks up her chopsticks, determined to finish her dinner as soon as possible, so that she can hear the story about this classmate who died, the one who gave her her name. And she wonders just what sort of story it will be.

 **…**

Akari gets to 'meet' the other Akari a few months later, when she has turned six and the leaves on the tree are all red and brown and orange and gold-pretty, they are, though sometimes she wishes trees could have blue and purple and pink leaves sometimes, too. She isn't surprised to see that they are heading to a gravestone, but she _is_ surprised to see that the gravestone is up by the old school building, the one that Papa and Mama and all of their friends are currently trying to refurbish so it can become a school again.

And she is definitely surprised to see that there is a person there, standing near the white stone. A girl, wearing a sleeveless red dress and a long skinny scarf, long green hair tumbling down her back. From what she has been told, she recognises her instantly, also recognising how the green of her locks is not natural, the result of dye. This is Akari Yukimura, AKA Kaede Kayano, and the person she was named after. _How can she be here? Isn't she dead?_

Mama goes ahead, and starts talking once she is in front of the gravestone.

"Hey Kayano, it's been a while. You remember Nagisa, right? You must do, but anyway, we got married four years ago, so you'd have to call me Rio now, since Nakamura is no longer my surname."

As they catch up and go to stand with Mama, Akari sees the other Akari smile faintly at this, before turning to look at them and raising an eyebrow, forehead creasing slightly when her gaze falls onto her specifically. Mama doesn't react to this-in fact, she seems to ignore the other Akari completely, which makes no sense. And then when she notices that she seems a little see-through, Akari figures it out, and feels embarrassed for being so stupid. _She's a ghost._ Nervously, she grips Papa's hand a little tighter, and shrinks back a little.

"Are you alright?" he asks. Akari nods firmly, but stays back.

"See the girl with us?" Mama continues, still not seeing Ghost-Akari. "She's our daughter. She gets her hair from Nagi's side of the family. And…..we named her Akari."

Ghost-Akari's expression goes from vaguely intrigued to utterly horrified, and she stares at Akari as though _she_ was the ghost. But she doesn't look away, and continues to stare at her, stricken. Akari looks up at Papa, who smiles down at her, and cautiously, she lets go of his hand and takes a step forward, and tries to smile as kindly as possible. _What do I say?_

"Hello, I'm Akari Shiota! It's nice to finally meet you!" she asks eventually.

"I don't think you should be happy about meeting me." Akari almost jumps as Ghost-Akari speaks, her voice quiet and heavy, but she manages not to scream. She glances quickly at Mama and Papa, but either they're just lost in thought, or they really don't see her.

"I caused a lot of chaos, for all of them. Especially your father." Ghost-Akari puffs out a sigh as she studies Mama and Papa. It occurs to Akari that perhaps Ghost-Akari has more reason to be scared and sad about things, and she remembers the things that she had been told about her, and suddenly, she's not concerned about being in the presence of a ghost anymore.

"I know! They told me! They said it's all okay though, that they forgive you! They just miss you."

"That's right, Kayano." Papa speaks up. "Even now, we all do. "

Papa sighs for a moment, and looks up at the sky. Mama takes over, and talks about different things. Since these are things she either already knows or just isn't interested in , Akari kneels down and looks at the gravestone. She recognises the name that Ghost-Akari was using when she was in the class with Mama and Papa, and she traces this with her finger before looking at the message. _May we know you better next time._ It seems like a strange message, but she thinks she knows what it means, anyway. Ghost-Akari watches them with a small smile on her face. It's a nice smile, she decides.

"Should I tell her about myself?" Akari asks when Mama stops. They both nod at this.

"Go for it!" Papa says, encouragingly. Akari stands up again, brushing down her jeans, and meets Ghost-Akari's eyes, and beams.

"Okay, so I turned six just over a month ago, so I get to start school next year! I'm excited about that, because Kaname and Ayame-they're my best friends, and live in the apartment downstairs to us- they're going to start school too, and we're going to the same one, so we'll get to walk there and back together and everything! And today, Mama and Papa are buying me a new backpack for school, as well as some other stuff! We're going to do that after leaving here. And I like to make jewellery! "

Akari pauses to hold up her arms to show Ghost-Akari the bracelets that she's wearing, before continuing.

"With beads and ribbons and everything, and I'm going to make a keyring for all our backpacks-me, Ayame and Kaname! And…..this isn't really about me, I don't think, not completely but Mama's going to have a baby! It's too early, so you can't really see that or anything yet, but I'm going to have a little brother! Or a sister! Kaname and Ayame have a little sister- her name's Tsukiko, and she's three. Ah! They're twins, you know. Kaname is a boy and Ayame is a girl, so they don't look like each other or anything, but they're still twins. Maybe Mama's having twins like them, then I could have a brother _and_ a sister!"

"Akari, don't jinx it!" Mama lunges forward to tickle her, and they laugh for a good few moments, having a tickle-fight, which Papa soon ends up joining. Ghost-Akari giggles too, but the sound is so quiet, it gets swallowed up by a breeze that comes and shakes the maple tree nearby, blowing a few of the leaves away.

"Well, I don't mind much anyway." Akari tells Ghost-Akari. "I'm just excited to be a big sister! You had a big sister, didn't you? It's nice to have a sister, don't you think? I hope that this little brother or sister will think that about me! I'm going to try and be nice, anyway….I just hope they're not too annoying though. "

Ghost-Akari nods and grins at this.

"I'm sure you'll be a good sister."

Akari just beams at this, and she grabs at her Mama's hand and her Papa's hand and holds on tightly as they stand there for a little while more. Papa talks for a bit, mostly about the school they're making. Just like Mama, he looks only at the gravestone, and doesn't even notice Ghost-Akari. She thinks about telling them, but something stops her, and so she doesn't.

"Anyway, we should get going now, Kayano. " Papa eventually finishes. "Like Akari said, we've got some shopping to do. So, we'll see you next time around, I guess."

"Yeah, until then, Kayano." Mama says.

"Bye-bye!" Akari choruses, as they walk away, still hand-in-hand. Ghost-Akari says nothing to this, but just before they go down the hill, Akari looks over her shoulder, and sees that she is watching them go, a smile still on her face.

 **…**

The next time she is up there is nearly two years later, on a sunny March weekend, to celebrate the fact that The Yukimura School will be opening at the beginning of that school year. Papa is going to be a teacher there, Yuuma-san the principal, and a lot of people who were friends with them are doing other things associated with the school. The details, she isn't too sure of, but she knows that Hinano-san's nature trails will still go on in the same school forests, but linked to the school, and some of Papa and Mama's other friends will be teachers for different subjects. And she knows that this isn't a school she will go to-not just because she already _has_ a school, but because of the type of children it will let in. Children who need more help than normal-struggling, sad, unusual children. She isn't anything like that, and she knows it and is glad of it. But she knows that some children are like that, and it isn't fair to not help them when you can help them. So she thinks it's an excellent thing, for The Yukimura School to exist.

But either way, seeing the project that her family have been working on for pretty much all her life makes her feel really, really good on the inside, and so she's happy to be here, picnicking and running around with her friends and just celebrating. The only thing is that she wishes is that Ghost-Akari could see it. She's been looking, carefully, for any trace of her lurking around the trees or her gravestone, ever since they arrived.

But she is not there, no matter how hard she looks. It is almost as if she imagined her, two years ago. _But I didn't. I know I didn't. So why aren't you here?_ After all, they had named the school for her. Technically, for her sister, the one who had been a teacher, and who had died before Ghost-Akari had, the reason that Ghost-Akari had had to die in the first place, in a way. But still, it was named for her, too. And it makes her sad that she isn't here. _Where did you go?_

"Akari-Chon! Whatcha you looking for?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing! What are you doing?" Akari stands up and turns to face Kaname, who is looking at her curiously.

"Have you guys finished eating yet?" she asks, lightly, not wanting Kaname to ask her any more.

"I have…..but Aya hasn't." Kaname points to where Ayame is sitting. She's sitting next to Yuuma-san and Tsukiko-who are also still eating, though more calmly-while Megu-san talks with Manami-san. It sounds like they're talking about babies, which makes sense, as they're both pregnant. Papa is nearby, discussing something that sounds funny but confusing with Karma-san, Tomo-san, Yukiko-san and Hiroto-san. Mama is with them too, Saki sitting in her lap and watching them. The rest of them are further away, but also chatting about different things and eating or drinking.

When Ayame catches Akari and Kaname's eyes, she grins at them through a mouthful. Kaname rolls his eyes, and Akari does the same, before they exchange glances and start giggling. Neither of them understand just how it is Ayame is always hungry. It's utterly ridiculous.

"Ahh….." she looks at the gravestone again, at the flowers that her parents and the others had placed there earlier, and shrugs, before she grabs Kaname's hand and drags him back to the picnic blanket.

"Ayame, when you're finished, let's go and play in the forest-that's okay, right, Mama?" she says, standing in front of her.

"Yes, sure. Just don't go too far in, okay? You're not familiar with the entire forest, it might not be safe."

"Mama, you _told_ us that before! I know that."

"Okay, okay. I'm just checking."

"I go too! Nee-nee, I go too!" Saki gets up and rushes over to Akari, glaring up at her. Akari sighs, and pretends to think about it, though she already knows what she's going to answer.

"Okay then, Saki, you can come too." Akari glances at Mama as she ruffles Saki's fluffy blue hair, checking that it's okay. Mama nods.

"As I said, don't go in too far. And be _careful_. "She says over Saki's happy giggles.

"Ah, Tsukiko, do you want to go play with them too?" Yuuma-san asks as Ayame grabs two more sandwiches, and runs up to join them. Tsukiko stares at them, as if suspicious.

"It's okay, we don't mind." Kaname tells her, charitably. Akari nods in agreement-it would hardly be fair if they left her out, especially as they're letting her little sister tag along. Tsukiko nods slowly, and then gets up, carefully dusting crumbs from her dress. She considers them again, and then smiles.

"Okay." Tsukiko says, quietly, as she joins them. Kaname pokes her cheek, making her squirm and then giggle.

"Cool, let's go then!" Akari grips Saki's hand tightly-because she is still only two, after all-and they run to the edge of the forest, half-chasing each other as they do, planning their games out loud as they do. Haruki, Misato and Yoshimi join them too, and even Anna comes along, though she is older. Initially, Akari is ahead of most of them, but just as they are about to go into the forest, she lags behind a little as she decides to look over her shoulder again, just to be sure. And once again, she is disappointed, and the weight of it feels heavy. _You should be here too, shouldn't you?_

"Nee-nee, they're going away!" Saki tugs at her hand, and Akari sighs again, and turns back to see that Kaname, Ayame and Tsukiko are indeed ahead of them. So for the moment, she forgets about Ghost-Akari, and grins widely at Saki.

"Sorry, Saki, just daydreaming. Let's go catch them again, okay?"

 **…**

"Shiota-san, can we talk for a moment?"

Akari, Meiko and Misato all look up at their classmate. Akari frowns. Apart from being in the same year group, she doesn't know this girl with her sleek, sharp black bob of hair-for the first and second year, they weren't in the same class, so she's having trouble recalling her name.

"What's wrong, Endou-san?" Misato asks the girl after she's chewed down the mouthful of melon bread she's eating. Endou just narrows her deep blue eyes at her.

"Who are you?" she asks. _I could ask the same about you._ Akari finds herself instantly disliking Endou, but refrains from saying anything.

"You're in the tennis club, right? My little sister is too. Yoshimi Maehara? Second year?"

"Oh, right. Yes, I am." Comprehension dawns on Endou's face. " I know her-good player, she is. You two don't look too much alike, you know."

Misato laughs at this, and Endou smiles obligingly, before her expression becomes haughty again and she turns to Akari.

"In any case, it's you I wanted to talk to, Shiota-san. Could we step outside?"

"Why? Is it that urgent?" Akari challenges. "You can ask me right here, in front of my friends."

Endou gives Akari a long, hard look, and Akari returns it in kind, idly fiddling with her bracelet as she does so. Akari wonders what the big deal is. She can't think of anything she could have done to possibly annoy her. She sighs in annoyance, hoping that Endou will give up and go away, but she doesn't.

"Uh, Akari-Chan, it's okay, really. We won't feel left out or anything." Meiko pipes up after a few seconds.

"There, that's the problem." Endou snaps suddenly, before Akari can say anything.

"You have an issue with _Meiko_?" Akari is incredulous. She can't imagine anyone having any problems with sweet, kind Meiko. Endou rolls her eyes.

"No, I have no _issue_ with Inoue-san. But I do have an issue with what she calls you? Could you please get your friends to call you by your surname, please?"

" _Why_?" Akari sees red, and she makes an effort to not blow up. "That doesn't make any sense."

Endou opens her mouth to explain (or protest, by the look on her face), when Kaname strolls in through the classroom door and beelines straight to them.

"Hey there, Akari-Chon, Misato-Chan, Meiko-Chan." He greets them as he sits on the chair next to Akari's-where Ayame had been sitting before deciding that she needed more lunch.

"Let me guess," he continues on conversationally. "Aya's gone to get something else to eat from the canteen?"

"Right as always." Akari feels herself lighten a little bit, but not completely, for Endou is still there. Still glaring, though she is looking at Kaname in the way most girls tend to. As much as it irritates her, Akari wonders if maybe this might defuse the situation, at least a little bit.

"Anyway then, what's wrong here?" he asks, turning his smile on Endou. She blushes a little, but somehow manages to remain stiff and stuffy.

"I was just asking Shiota-san if she'd get people to address her by her surname instead of her first name. It's going to cause a lot of trouble for me otherwise, being in the same class and all."

"Oh, I see-erm, I'm sorry, I don't think I know your name." Kaname apologises, raking his hand through his light hair. "I'm guessing your first name is Akari too, but it would be impolite to just call you that straight off."

"It's Endou, but I don't really mind…how did you figure it out anyway?" Endou splutters. Kaname just shrugs. Endou sighs and shakes her head.

"So anyway, now that's clarified, you can see why I'm asking. I have friends too, you know."

For the first time, Akari notices two girls sitting at a desk near the windows, watching them with interest. She rolls her eyes and decides to block them out.

"Nobody's asking you to _not have friends_!" she protests. Endou rolls her eyes, and is about to say something when Kaname interrupts.

"Really though, do you seriously know anyone who's gonna be calling you Akari- _Chon_? Because far as I knew, there is only one Akari-Chon, and she's here, next to me."

Endou gives a start at that, and studies Akari, glowering slightly before sticking her nose in the air and turning around, walking off swiftly. They all stare at her for a moment, and then Misato breaks the silence by laughing loudly. Endou and her two friends glare at the sound, but Misato seems not to care as she shook her head.

"Man, what was that, even?" she asks as she calms.

"Who knows?" Akari shrugs, suddenly feeling heavy.

"Hey, what happened?" Ayame appears suddenly, arms laden with canteen snacks. "What's with all these fac-hey, Ka _na_! That's _my_ seat!"

Ayame dumps her loot on the desk and goes to play-tackle Kaname, and the ensuing chaos means they all forget about Endou for a little while. Akari hopes that'll spell the end of this, and tries to put it out of her mind.

 **…**

As it turns out, she was wrong about that being the end of it.

Over the next few weeks, every so often, Endou approaches her in the classroom or in the corridor, again asking the same thing. She makes a point of glaring at Akari's friends whenever they address her, and all their interactions are pointed and frosty, unnecessarily emphasising their surnames whenever they have to talk to each other. But where Akari tries to keep her friends out of the dispute and keep things normal, Endou gets her two friends to corner her on her behalf as well. And they tried to get Kaname into it, given his popularity, but that, at least, didn't work. But even so, the dispute seemed to spiral out of control, and though Akari saw it as petty and pointless, she found it difficult to try and not take it personally. But it got harder and harder, and she felt herself start to wear down.

"Why is it so important to you?" she eventually hisses at Endou, one day, when cornered in the corridor. "Who _died_ to give you your name?"

"Huh? What does that mean?" Stunned for a moment, Endou blinks. Akari tries to take the opportunity to just walk away, but Endou quickly recovers and steps to the side to block her way. Condescendingly, she raises an eyebrow.

"Honestly, Shiota-san, I don't know what you're aiming at, but honestly, who the hell cares?"

Akari goes cold for a moment, and then suddenly feels herself burning, going into the other extreme ,seeing nothing but red. _What do you mean, who cares? What do you mean?_ That was, just so….she wasn't…..for a long, long moment, all she could sense was the question clanging around her head, taunting her.

So it takes her a while to realise that around her, she can hear gasps and screams, and when she comes back into herself, it takes a while longer to realise that she had punched Endou hard enough to push her to the floor. But even then, as the shock started to sink in, all she wonders is how Endou could have _said_ something like that.

 **…**

They drive home in silence, Akari pointedly looking out of the car window and brooding. Three weeks suspension. She supposes it could have been worse than that, but luckily, Endou hadn't been knocked unconscious from hitting the floor, and her nose hadn't broken, despite the blood everywhere. And she _had_ been provoked. _But still_ , she muses unhappily. _I hadn't wanted this_. Akari finds herself thinking that she had not wanted this to be the big thing that happened to her in the third year of middle school.

"So…..Akari," Mum ventures. "Do you want to tell me what that was about? I think I got some of it, but really…..you don't do things like that, Akari. So why?"

Akari sighs deeply and turns to look at her mother. Focusing on driving, she still tries to give Akari a smile, but is clearly strained. But Akari tries to be honest, explaining as best as she could, right from the April lunchtime where Endou had started it all, up until that confrontation in the corridor. Mum listens and nods, not asking questions or interrupting until the end of the sputtering, halting story that starts to sound more ridiculous the more she tries to explain. _If only I had just been able to dismiss it._

"You know, Akari…." Mum sighs eventually. "A name isn't all that makes you, you know. It's what you do with your life, the decisions you make. Your actions, not your name. But that doesn't make your name meaningless. Your name couldn't ever be meaningless, you know that. Still, it's not the only thing that defines you, so you shouldn't need to feel that it is."

"So, what, I should have ignored Endou, when she was the one who kept _on and on_ about it?!"

"No, that isn't what I meant…." Mum shakes her head and purses her lips for a moment. "But I think…..it wasn't worth this, getting suspended for three weeks. Though I will admit, there was something about the look of her that made me want to punch her."

Mum winks and Akari chuckles, but the mood quickly gets serious.

"But even so, harming someone like that….that was way out of proportion for the situation. You're definitely in the wrong for that, Akari."

"No, she deserved it."

Mum says nothing to this, just sighing heavily and Akari gets angry.

"No, she _did_! How dare she say 'who cares?' It _is_ important! If she hadn't died, I wouldn't be an Akari, would I? Hell, she was close to Dad and all, right? You said it took ages for you to admit to liking Dad, it was because of her, right? So if she hadn't died, you two wouldn't even be…..I wouldn't be the me I am now…I may not have even been, as well, and then that would mean that Saki would never be…..so how can you say that it's not a big deal? Like this was just a back-up or something? Like it doesn't matter either way?"

Trembling, Akari looks down at her lap, at her school bag sitting on it, and then glances up at Mum-and regrets what she says, once she sees the pained look. Mum looks straight ahead, and says nothing. Akari wants to take it back, to apologise, but she cannot find the words and besides, she is still too angry, too raw. So she just sits there, and the rest of the journey continues in a silence that's tenser than it was before.

When they get to outside their apartment block, Akari climbs out of the car, and then turns to look at Mum.

"Do some of whatever homework you did get, or something, and fix something for Saki for when she gets home, yeah? When me and your father get back from work, then we'll sit down and talk about what to do, okay?"

Though she still looks hurt, Mum smiles, and Akari's heart clenches again, but all she can do is nod.

"Okay, Mum." She manages to say. "Drive safe, okay?"

"Sure I will. But you behave yourself. Don't go around punching the other residents or anything." She responds with some degree of merriment.

Akari laughs despite herself, astonished at Mum but not entirely surprised and just nods before she heads inside and Mum drives back to work.

Once she is inside, and in her bedroom, she flops on her bed and looks up at the ceiling, at the beaded mobile she made when she was 11, and just stays there for what feels like an age before deciding she needs to do something. So she gets up and goes to have a shower, before coming back and digging out some of her exercise books and trying to study, but she finds it hard to concentrate, and then goes to the kitchen to look for a snack, and when she finds some chocolate biscuits. She munches at them idly while sitting in the living area.

When Saki comes back, Akari finds some more biscuits for her, and serves them with a glass of juice, and they sit at the kitchen table as she half-listens to her chirpy stories about school-she doesn't even wonder why Akari is back so early, which amuses her, a little. Then she helps Saki with her sums, and some of her reading too, before the little girl stoutly informs her that she's fine on her own, at which point Akari returns to her bedroom, and tries to do more of her own. This time, she manages to get through a few pages before once again tiring of it. Briefly, she glances at her phone, but does not bother to read the messages she has. Instead, she just flits from activity to activity, not really settling on anything, and ends up staring out of her window, out at the street, leaning her forehead against the cool glass as she watches people go by, and she wonders just how she could be so thoughtless. _But even so….._

Time goes by, and soon, she spots Mum's car coming down the road, and she steels herself, knowing that she's probably gone to pick up Dad, so they'll both be there. _D-Day is here,_ she thinks, self-depreciatingly. But she stays at the window, watches how her parents get out of the car at the same time and how Dad walks around to meet Mum. They are laughing about something, joking. Akari is glad; it means that they haven't just been talking about her. She watches as Mum pulls faces and cracks jokes, and as Dad alternates between protesting heavily and laughing along. And she watches as Dad reaches for Mum's hand and holds it as they head to the door, and how Mum playfully steals a kiss from him, as if they're both still young and together for the first time. And as they reach the door and end up out of her sight, Akari realises that there was no way that this was just a back-up plan, a consolation prize. That whatever had come before, they loved each other now, had built lives together, and that was enough. That this had to be something true, and real. And that really, she had known that all along.

 _Ah, I was in the wrong, after all._ She grits her teeth. Now she has to find the words to apologise. Not that she won't do it, but she hates this realisation that she's caused new pain. _As if the past wasn't sharp enough._ She waits at the window for a moment, waiting for the moment that the door opens. She waits a little longer for Saki to hurtle over and glomp them with her trademark hugs, for the room to fill with the carefree happiness that usually defines the house. And it is only then that she goes out to meet them, to say sorry and find out what happens next.

…

For the three weeks she is suspended, Dad arranges things with a family friend, Sakura-san, so that she can help out at Wakaba Day Care for that time, and some of the job takes her up to The Yukimura School too. She walks Saki to school in the morning, runs some errands, and completes the schoolwork brought to her. Apart from that, she is grounded, not allowed to go out and hang out with her friends in the evenings or at the weekends. And she has all the chores to do, too.

But though, like any punishment should, this grates, she does not mind too much. Even with not seeing anyone else, she still gets to see Kaname and Ayame-not just they live below her and are bringing her schoolwork each day, but also because anyone who knows her knew that separating her from them for a long time would be akin to chopping all her limbs off and feeding them to pigs-and that's enough for her. She thinks it quite fun walking Saki to school too, getting to know her friends while she's at it. The volunteering is tiring, as it would be, being around young children, but she finds the work satisfying, and figures that every job has its own difficulty. Not to mention she thinks it's so cool, seeing Dad in action as a teacher.

The only thing she really hates, that doesn't have a flipside to it, is doing all the chores. But she gets through it, the best she can. She _had_ been in the wrong, after all. Nothing could change that.

But even with knowing that, she can't help sometimes going over to Ghost-Akari's grave after she's done her tasks there and while waiting for Dad to finish and just sitting there and wondering. Wondering whether she should be grateful to Ghost-Akari for giving her the chance to exist, or blaming her for putting her in this situation in the first place.

 **…**

Careers counselling, near the end of the year, just before they have to start thinking of high schools. When it's her turn to talk to her teacher, she has her answer ready. In truth, she's had it ready for most of the year.

"I want to work for The Yukimura School. " Akari states. After a moment, she adds a clarification.

"Not necessarily as a teacher, but something like a school counsellor."

Her teacher blinks for a moment, and just stares at her incredulously. Akari restrains herself from rolling her eyes or making a cutting remark.

"Well…..that's specific." She says, eventually. "Are you sure about that?"

"I am."

"Hmm….The Yukimura School does good things, I know this. But apart from your, erm, incident with Endou-san back in the first term, you've been an exemplary student. Are you sure you want to settle for this? It will be a difficult, and thankless job in some cases."

"Sensei, don't all jobs come with their own difficulties?" Akari asks, levelly.

"Yes, of course. But….." her teacher regards her. "Is this something to do with the fact that your father works there?"

"The school means a lot to me because of that, that is true. But this is my own decision." Akari finds herself wanting to scream. _He helped to found it too, stupid Sensei!_

"Well…..well now." _Seriously, what's so mind blowing about this?_ "At least you've got a specific goal in mind. School counsellor, you said you were hoping to be?"

Struggling to keep her composure at this point, Akari just nods. Her teacher nods too and then takes a breath.

"Alright then, let's discuss what your options are in that case. Do you have any idea of what high schools you want to go to?"

 **…**

"Shiota-san, have you ever seen a ghost?"

"Huh, what?" Akari curses as she drops the blue bead she was about to string onto the necklace, and takes a moment to get it back before looking up again.

"What are you on about?"

Ayame groans and face-palms and a few of their other classmates chuckle.

"Oh my god, Akari, weren't you listening? We're going to tell each other ghost stories! Ghost stories! And you're just sitting there beading."

Akari rolls her eyes at Ayame.

"Says the person still eating sweets."

Ayame turns out to not have anything to say about that, and so she just continues, slightly nonplussed.

"It's gonna be lights-out soon anyway." Misato pointed out, deadpan. "But anyway, we were talking about ghosts. "

"Why?" Akari pointedly asks, continuing the necklace as she does so, not really caring.

"Because this is kind of like a sleepover, isn't it?" one of her classmates points out. "And that's what we do during sleepovers."

"Gee, I thought that was talking about boys."

"Yeah, but then we're all gonna be talking about Isogai-san's brother, and I don't think she wants that."

"Too right! He's my freaking brother." Ayame rolls her eyes. Akari does too-she wasn't interested in anyone, but it was not like she would bother with anyone apart from Kaname.

"So anyway, Shiota-san, what I asked you was, have you ever seen a ghost?"

"Yeah."

The answer falls out of her mouth before she could do anything about it, and instantly, she wishes she hadn't said anything. Many mouths drop open at this.

"You have, really?"

"What did it look like?"

When was this?"

"What happened?"

"Was it scary?"

"Uh…" Akari did not expect to see this much interest in her ghost. She heaves a sigh, and puts aside her work in progress for now. She looks at the faces of Ayame, Misato and her other classmates, and they linger on Endou for a moment. Even with ending up in the same class as each other in high school, they've been making a point of studiously ignoring each other, which was probably for the best. But now she's regarding Akari with interest, and it makes her feel strange.

"Uh…I was just little, like before starting school. I'm not so sure…"

 _Where would I even start with this? What am I meant to say?_ It was not as if the past of her parents and her namesake were completely classified secrets. But all the same, right from the beginning, Mum and Dad have always discouraged her from really talking about it in public. The most that's public knowledge has been consigned to history. The rest, it ended up boiling down to a simple mention of a beloved and long deceased teacher when The Yukimura School was unveiled.

"Hey, how come we don't know about this?" Ayame pouts at her. Misato is pulling a similar face.

"Guys. Really?" it takes them a moment, but they both get it.

"Ohhh, right." Ayame nods exaggeratedly. "Right, I see. Yeah, no story there for you guys, sorry."

A few disappointed murmurs go up, and some shake their head. Endou is one of the head-shakers, but she continues to regard Akari, and when she is noticed, actually nods at her. Akari startles, and manages to return the acknowledgment before the attention is taken off by another classmate declaring she's just remembered some other scary story that she had seen on the internet. And as they all crowd around to listen, Akari cannot help but feel more than relieved that she doesn't have to explain.

 **…**

Akari and Endou end up in the same class for the second year of high school, too. And like they had in the first year, they keep their interactions to a minimum, both still remembering the big mess middle school had been. From time to time, Akari catches Endou looking at her strangely, but it comes to nothing. All the same, when the news comes that Endou has to move overseas and one of her friends decides to get people to sign a big card for her as a surprise for her last day, it ends up making its way to Akari.

At first, she doesn't know what to say. Most of whatever shared memories they have had as classmates were awkward at best and painful at worst. And she didn't want to issue fake platitudes that meant nothing. Whatever she said, had to mean something. So she agonises over it for a moment, before the perfect words come to her in a flashback of smooth white stone and she wonders how she had not thought of it before.

On Endou's last day, when she receives the card her friend had organised, Akari watches to see what her reaction would be. Sure enough, Endou seems surprised, mouthing the phrase with a quizzical look, before seeming to dismiss it. But later, after many tearful hugs with her friends, and after thanking the rest of the class, she walks up to Akari's desk.

"Shiota-san?" she asks.

"Yes?" Akari asks warily as she puts things back in her pencil case.

"I…..I hope so too." Endou said eventually, holding up the card. Though she is looking at the front of it, Akari knows what is being referred too, and she holds Endou's gaze for a moment. A long silence stretches out beyond them, before Endou sniffs at her.

"Well, that's all I had to say. Take good care of yourself."

"Likewise." But at this point, Endou has already spun on her heel and stalked off.

"What was that about, Akari-Chan?" Meiko asks her curiously. "Is it to do with your message?"

"What did you even write anyway, when neither of you like each other?" Misato asked.

"'May I know you better next time.'"

Her friends look at her as if she has grown two heads. She waits patiently.

"I….don't understand." Misato eventually admits. "Where did you come up with that, anyway?"

"It's true. That's enough, isn't it?" Akari asks. Misato and Meiko shrug.

"Eh, I suppose so. It's still strange, though."

After that, it's time for the final lesson of the day, so they do not talk about it anymore. All the same, Akari wonders what it would be like to know Endou the next time, in circumstances where possibly they could bond over their shared name instead of fighting over it.

 **…**

"Why'd you wait to spring this on me now?"

"What do you mean, _wait_? I found out this morning! This _morning_. You know, when you had lectures all day, and that seminar too?"

Akari steams up at Satoshi's whiny attitude. In the year and a bit since they met on the first day of university, he's always been calm and laid-back with a particular spark to him that added to it all. Not to mention, more mature. And now, as they sit on the sofa in the accommodation she shares with Ayame, she finds herself wondering where that has gone, because right now, she cannot see it."

"You couldn't have texted me or something?" This new Satoshi continues. "Instead you need to wait until we actually get some time together and just spring it on me?"

"For god's sake! This isn't the type of news you text people over! It's important, and we need to talk about what to do next!"

"What do you mean, what to do next?" Satoshi turns from whiny to confused. "What _is_ there to do?"

Akari slow-blinks at Satoshi, and waits for some indicator that this is a joke of some sort. Satoshi looks back at her. And slowly, she realises that he isn't joking.

"You do realise you are half-responsible, don't you? I mean, it's not like I could have become pregnant by myself." She says slowly, half sarcastic, half hoping for a change of heart. But Satoshi just shakes his head bemusedly.

"Argh, I dunno, Akari. I mean, we're not even twenty yet. We're still young, no need to be tied down by stuff, you know. Don't you think that too?"

"Stuff?!" Akari sees red at this. No, she had _not_ thought of being 'tied down' when she had realised, when the test she had taken showed the two blue lines that confirmed her suspicions. She had had a moment of fear, sure, but she hadn't thought in those terms at all.

Instead the first thing she had thought of was being little again, walking down the streets with her parents and holding their hands, playing a game where she had to avoid the imaginary monsters hiding in the street cracks by jumping over them. She had thought of visiting the hospital when Saki was a new-born and marvelling at how tiny she had been. She had thought of being helped with homework, family dinners, the large support network she'd always had, holidays by the beach, laughter and tears and warmth, all mixed together, of affectionate teasing and having someone in her corner, and of how even when she'd had her adolescent hate-the-parent phases she had known these things to be true. She had thought of how much love she and Saki had been given as a child through their whole lives in general, and how now she would get the chance to build a life like that herself.

"No, I don't. " Akari states coldly. Satoshi starts at this, and for a moment she sees the spark of person she had been attracted to and with whom she had fallen in love, but just as swiftly, he disappears to be replaced by this detestable person who only _physically_ looks like that sparkling person now.

"Okay, okay, that was a bad way of wording it. But Akari, I like you a lot and all….but I don't want to be a father and husband already, or anything like that, you know? I just want…want to be free."

"I'm not asking you to marry me!" _though I would have liked that, some day_. "For god's sake, you already know my Mum and Dad didn't marry until long after I was born!"

"Well, sure, but….." Satoshi stutters and sputters for a few moments longer, then sighs and gives up. He shrugs heavily and looks at her pleadingly, but she does not budge, and just looks at him coldly.

"I think we should forget about anything for today. You should go. See yourself out. " she shuffles across the sofa to make her point. He gets up without complaint, but something clouds his eyes.

"So this…..us…is this the end, then?"

Something clenches, inside her. It isn't the sensation of her heart breaking, but it is close to it, and tinged with disappointment. Somehow, she manages to hide it-she refuses to let Satoshi see this.

"Most likely, unless we can agree."

Again, she sees that something cloud his eyes, and for a moment, it brings back the old Satoshi, the one she had fallen for. But the moment is over, just like that, and Satoshi turns away, slips on his shoes, then opens the door and slips out, quietly closing the door behind him. Akari waits a few beats, before getting up and going to lock it properly, then heads straight back to the sofa.

Huddling up in the corner of it, she looks up at the roof, and absently places her hands on her belly and wonders what would happen next. Because now she was thinking of the harder things, of the burden this would be at this stage in her life. _What do I do?_ She wasn't going to change her mind, she would still keep the child. But still, there was going to be just so _much_ upheaval. _What do I do next?What will I do, afterwards?_ And of course, the question of names pops up in her mind, but she has enough to wonder about, so she (with some difficulty) pushes that question away.

She lifts a hand to her eyes and rubs them tiredly, and remains like that for a moment. Then, resolutely, she pushes herself up, and goes to where her bag was, and fishes out her phone. Remaining where she is, she unlocks it and dialled her home number, the one she knew off by heart, then holds the phone to her ear and waits for Mum or Dad to answer. She doesn't know what to do, after all. So she's going to just ask.

 **…**

It feels refreshing, to sit here with one of her closest friends, sipping juice and just sitting and talking about anything and everything. She is five months pregnant, just starting to show, and feels a bit like she is a spectacle. A cautionary tale. The sad story. She prefers to just be Akari Shiota, and it's not often these days she gets to be that. But with Kaname, that's what she always is, and she treasures it.

"Hey, Akari-Chon…?" Kaname studies her over his juice can as he asks this. He looks unusually serious.

"What is it?" she asks, half laughing, not sure what to make of this. Kaname still looks serious.

"A….I, uh, are you scared?"

"Of what?"

"I….well, the future? Of the both of you? I mean, sure you're not technically alone, what with Nagisa-san and Rio-san, hell, even Saki-Chan, but…what about the day to day, tiny details of your life?"

"Kaname, you're talking nonsense." She tells him, matter-of-fact. He splutters, and pulls a face at her.

"Ah, Akari-Chon, don't take me the wrong way!

"I'm not…I just have no idea what you're talking about, Kaname."

"Ah, figures. I'm not making much sense, am I?"

"No, not particularly." Akari deadpans. "Glad to see that you finally get it."

Kaname chuckles and shakes his head at her, but then becomes serious again.

"Well, don't bash me over the head, but….." he takes a breath. "What do you think of us getting married?"

"Huh?"

Akari goes blank for a moment, trying to process. _Since when….?_

"Uh….is this a….confession, or something?"

Kaname is now the one to go blank for a moment, before he laughs ruefully and shake his head.

"No, no, nothing like that, Akari-Chon. Trust me, if I was aiming for that I would have been much smoother….and sooner. I was just thinking…argh. The reasoning makes sense in my head."

"Unfortunately, I'm not a mind reader. So just try." Akari says, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"It's just….I've known you forever, I know you're strong and all. But…no matter what, it's going to be hard now, on your own, bringing up a child and trying to achieve your dreams and everything. And…I'd help you anyway, no matter what, but if I'm just a friend, that would be a lot different than if I was in a position where we actually shared a life with you. And ….well, I'm not in love with you, but I love you. It's not obviously the ideal reason for getting married but….I think I'd be willing to make it work. You know?"

"Hmmm…." Akari considers this. _Love can take all sorts of forms, I know._ She thinks of her parents, of her friends' parents. She studies Kaname, looking ruffled yet somehow perfect in the casual clothes he wears when working at the florist's he's training at, notices the bracelets that he's wearing around his right wrist. They are ones that she made when they were about 10 or so, and he's been wearing them every day since, bringing them to her to adjust when they become too small for his wrist. _I'm not in love with you, but I love you._ She supposes that applies to her, too. But there are other things she needs to consider.

"You'd actually be willing to be a father for a child that isn't even technically yours?"

"Biology isn't all that makes a parent, is it? Otherwise Satoshi-kun'd still be around." Kaname says cuttingly. Akari winces, because she's thought much the same herself. But she has more to ask.

"But this is settling, isn't it? It's not like my life's just drawing to a close, you know that. But it could be, for you. What if, maybe ten years later, you fall in love with someone? What then?"

"Akari-Chon. I said I'll make it work."

" _No, she_ did _! How dare she say 'who cares?' It is important! If she hadn't died, I wouldn't be an Akari, would I? Hell, she was close to Dad and all, right? You said it took ages for you to admit to liking Dad, it was because of her, right? So if she hadn't died, you two wouldn't even be…..I wouldn't be the me I am now…I may not have even been, as well, and then that would mean that Saki would never be…..so how can you say that it's not a big deal? Like this was just a back-up or something? Like it doesn't matter either way?"_

Akari sighs, remembering the outburst from middle school, the hurt that caused, and wonders if perhaps, this is a case of something similar. Not the same, not exactly the same, of course it isn't. _Still…..not in love, but loving anyway…..there's room to make that work. Maybe…._

"There's no deadline I have to answer by, right? I can think about it first?" Akari asks. Kaname nods vigorously.

"Sure. Sorry, I didn't mean that to be…..well." Kaname shrugs.

"It's okay." Akari replies, and means it. She drinks a bit more of her juice and looks up at the sky for a moment, and suspects that even though she's going to consider it properly, she probably already knows what her answer will be.

 **…**

When she sees the gravestone at last, she stops and takes a breath. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to climb all the way up here at this time, but she knew that with it being a Sunday afternoon, there would be nobody here in the school, nobody who'd she'd disturb by coming up here. And though of course it won't be the last time she'll ever visit here, it somehow feels fitting to make a point of coming up here now, before the next part of her life starts. That, and she would have come up here anyway, simply because she had decided she wanted to do so. If anyone had tried to dissuade her, she most likely wouldn't have listened.

The thought of this makes her chuckle for a moment as she sets down the flowers, sitting them so that they don't disturb the other flowers-she wonders if it was Mum, Dad or someone else who put them there- but then the moment of amusement fades as she looks around her. Just as she had suspected, there's no sign of Ghost-Akari anywhere.

"Uhm….hello? Are you there? It's Akari Shiota. You remember me , right? I've been up here a lot over the years, but I think the last time I actually saw you when I was just a little girl and….well, I'm not a little girl anymore."

Akari stops, and rubs her head tiredly. She wonders if she had imagined Ghost-Akari, all those years ago, if she had really been there. But at the same time, she knows that what she saw was real. _So…why, then?_

"I…if you're still here and you can see and hear me-are you at peace now?" she recalls books she had pored over in high school, searching for the answers to questions a school trip had flagged up.

"Did I give you peace, that time when I was six years old? Was it….because of what my name is? I suppose it would come as a relief, to know that you had been forgiven, after all. That you were loved and cherished, despite everything. It makes sense, that the weight on you would have been lightened. Still, I wish there was a way of knowing if you were still here. I've got so much to say to you."

Akari pauses for a moment, and waits for a sign of some sort. A breeze, a darkening of the sky, anything. But nothing is forthcoming, and in the end, she just sighs and starts talking about her life, about the things that have happened between the last time she had actually seen Ghost-Akari and now, this moment. Of course, there is a whole lot to say, especially considering her recent history, and so she ends up babbling after a while, and has to stop and take a breath. She looks around her, taking in the surroundings, still wanting to say something else and not knowing what she should say. Absently, she puts a hand on her belly, and looks back down at the flowers.

"Hey, Akari-san," she pauses momentarily, wondering if this is the right way to address her- _I can't exactly_ call _her Ghost-Akari now, can I? -_ or if she should use the name that her parents knew her as, before shaking her head and just continuing anyway.

"Do you know what flowers these are? They're _shion_ -asters. Pretty, aren't they? According to Kaname, in _hanakotoba_ they signify remembrance. He's crazy about flowers, though I don't know why, or how it came about really. But yeah, he knows things like this, and he told me this. So I think it's fitting, that it's these flowers that I'm bringing here.

"Aaand…you're probably wondering why I'm telling you this? That's because this is the name I've chosen for my child. Shion. For remembrance. Remembrance of you. I mean, it's not like I can name him or her-because I don't know yet, what I'm having-after you, because I'm already named after you. And as for your sister, that's what The Yukimura School is for. I'd thought of maybe using a variation, but that felt too egocentric, somehow. It would sound like I was deriving the name from my own, not from the general idea of remembering you, and everything else Mum and Dad and Yuuma-san and Megu-san and everyone else went through, you know? And that's important to me, you know? Because, well, how do I word this….?"

Akari takes another breath, and sighs as she fiddles absently with the bracelets around her wrists.

"I think Koro-sensei was wrong, in a way, that time when he told you that names didn't matter as such, that they shouldn't define you. They do. They come with their stories, which become the stories of the people given the names. I'm sure that my life would have been a lot different if I was named Chizuru or Kiyomi or Reiko or even if I was Saki instead. If I wasn't Akari Shiota, then I'd have become a whole other person. Perhaps I would have ended up at this point anyway, or I might not be anywhere near it. But being Akari….that shaped everything, right from the beginning, and I know that at least everything up to now wouldn't be the same. Not to say that Koro-sensei wasn't right about what one does with their name, but still. The name I was given shaped the things I'd do in the first place, almost like fate. And I'd like that to shape the next generation, too. And the best way to do that is to remember-hence, Shion.

"Because, you see, sometimes it was hard living up to you and your memory, but this life of mine…..I'm glad that it was _your_ name I got gifted. So now, I'm passing the gift on."

Akari stops at that point, and sighs again. _I wonder if any of that made sense._ She sort of hopes it does. Perhaps the decisions she has taken up to this point are strange ones, ones that any other person in her position wouldn't have done. But she also knows that in as far as who she is and where she came from, what she's doing is right. These are the right decisions. The life she has is fine as it is, and so, she has no reason to regret them.

Huffing slightly, she bends down again, and rearranges the flowers, this time leaving her bouquet in the middle. _Remembrance._ An act that she'll continue to carry out, for the rest of her life. A burden, but also a gift. _Yeah, I'm glad._ In one last hopeful glance, she searches for a glimpse of Ghost-Akari once again, but she still remains absent. It doesn't surprise her anymore.

But still, before she turns her back and walks away, she makes sure to wave and say goodbye, just in case.

* * *

" **Names aren't loners, they're connected, even in real life. You name your kids for someone dead or what you hope they will become or what you wish you were and your parents did the same to you and that big, glittering net of names tell the story of the whole world. Names are load-bearing struts. Names are destiny."**

 **-Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente**


End file.
